Congress MP Kumari Selja has confirmed she is in the chief ministerial race – if her party wins the 2024 Haryana election, which appears unlikely at this time. Nevertheless, a smiling Ms Selja told NDTV, “Yes. I am among contenders to be Chief Minister… but the final decision is with the party high command.”
Ms Selja also said the people of Haryana “know their future is (with the) Congress”. “The electorate looks at their future… and they know their future is Congress,” she said Tuesday morning, confident that Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra and effort by workers on the ground will translate into a win.
On her party’s chances of upsetting the Bharatiya Janata Party – which is bidding for, and closing in on, a third consecutive win in the Hindi heartland state – Ms Selja said, “It is natural to have fatigue (referring to the anti-incumbency vote)… there was also the BJP’s misrule. That was a big factor.”
The Congress had raced into an early lead as postal ballots and early votes were counted.
However, the party was soon pegged back, with its fierce rival then crossing the halfway mark soon after and then stretching its legs to cross, and then hover around, the 50 seat-mark in leads.
READ | BJP Surges Ahead In Haryana Thriller, Congress Pauses Celebrations
The party, though, remains confident it will eventually prevail. Ms Selja said, “As counting progresses, we will win more than 60 Assembly seats and Congress will form the government.”
The race to form the Haryana government is, of course, the big story.
Kumari Selja vs Bhupinder Hooda?
But there is a subplot within the Congress camp, with senior leaders Ms Selja and Bhupinder Hooda going head-to-head to be named Chief Minister. Mr Hooda is raring for a third term; he made it clear he is “neither tired nor retired” but also said the party HQ, and its elected MLAs, will take the call.
Ms Selja – who won the Sirsa Lok Sabha seat in the April-June election – was earlier more circumspect, having told NDTV last month, “Why should I ‘stake claim’? Why should it be about ‘staking claim’?”
READ | “Haryana Can Give Me Space”: Kumari Selja, Day After Exit Polls
She suggested then the choice should reflect “who works hard and is committed to the people”.
This morning she was perhaps the more confident of the two Congress leaders, even if the party itself seems set to fall to a third Haryana poll defeat. Mr Hooda also spoke to NDTV, insisting the Congress will bounce back to claim victory but his body language – usually assertive – seemed to betray him.
READ | Congress Winning, Says Bhupinder Hooda, But Body Language Says…
To a question on the chief ministerial race he said, again, the party would decide.
“The Congress is going to form the government. Only two or three rounds of counting have been completed and the reports we are getting are saying we will have a majority,” he said in Hindi.
Kumari Selja Unhappy?
There was significant buzz in Haryana political circles last month after Ms Selja seemed to be in a funk; a prominent state leader with influence over the Dalit vote, she delayed campaigning for the party.
There was speculation she was unhappy with the way candidates were chosen; these seemed to favour loyalists of Bhupinder Hooda. She was also unhappy, it was said, at being taken for granted.
One of the issues flagged was that Ms Selja had made it clear she wanted to contest the state poll, but that was overruled by the party HQ and she was fielded from (and won) the Sirsa Lok Sabha seat.
She later told NDTV, “I wanted to contest… party didn’t allow. That is ok…“, but then warned of “issues… serious issues” that need to be resolved within the Congress’ state unit.
“It was never intended I shall remain absent (from the campaign) throughout. I will campaign…” she also said, “…because I am a party solider. I’ve always said I am a good soldier.”
All of this led the BJP to declare she had been “disrespected” and an ‘invitation’ to join was proffered by ex-Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. However, Ms Selja laughed off such talk and invited the BJP, instead, to “first set their own house in order”. “How much respect do they give (to Dalits) …”
What Hooda Said
Last week Mr Hooda dismissed “hypothetical questions” and underlined his position on the chief ministerial race – that the final decision will be taken by the Congress’ central leadership.
But more telling was his response to a question on Kumari Selja becoming the Congress’ next Haryana Chief Minister. “This is a democracy… everybody should aspire. But the MLAs will decide…” he said.
The reference to MLAs deciding is key because a majority of them are understood to be loyal to the former Chief Minister, Ms Selja has already said it is “not healthy” for state lawmakers to be involved in the selection of a Chief Minister; “I think the ‘high command’ should decide, otherwise people get tied down and that, I feel, also leads to further factionalism,” she told NDTV this week.
Hooda Over Sellja?
Overall Mr Hooda is seen as having the Congress’ tacit backing – a fact necessitated, perhaps, by the influence he wields in the state – and the party has tried to broker a deal with Selja Kumari.
In fact, the measure of his influence, sources suggested to NDTV, is that he stopped the party from allying with the Aam Aadmi Party for this election. The AAP and Congress – allied under the INDIA bloc for the general election – had all but reached a deal for this poll too, only for state leaders to veto.
READ | AAP-Congress Pre-Poll Alliance Failed In Haryana. This Is Why
As far as that goes, it appears they were right; the AAP has failed to open its account in Haryana.
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